In the pilot phase of the project, which is worth Nu. 16.5 million and is to be ready in six months, the service would be provided in the core urban areas of Thimphu, Paro, Phuentsholing, Wangduephodrang, Trongsa and Kanglung.

“The locations were not chosen randomly,” said the general manager of Druknet, Ganga R Sharma. “Thimphu, Phuentsholing, Paro and Wangdue have fibre optic connectivity which would make broadband possible,” he said. “Trongsa and Kanglung are connected via SDH radio and has adequate capacity to provide back haul connections.”

Ganga Sharma explained that dial up connectivity via Druknet, Bhutan Telecom’s internet service provider, was between 14.4 kbps to 52.2 kbps at the moment. This would increase to 512 kbps or higher once the system was laid out.

Druknet has, on average, about 5,000 dial up users all over the country. While the number of users had not increased the dial up usage had gone up according to Druknet manager, Jichen Thinley. “Many users are using office provided lease lines connections and dial up packages,” he said.

The pricing for high-speed dial up connections is yet to be worked out but Druknet officials said that they would not make it so expensive that the service becomes a white elephant. It was also yet to be decided whether charges should be based on volume of usage or by time.

Depending on the response to the pilot phase, Druknet officials said that service would be expanded to other parts of the country. “The core equipment, to be installed in the pilot phase is capable of providing triple play services (video, voice and data) but the other services may come only later,” said Jichen Thinley.

The service is targeted at dial up users, home offices and small businesses that cannot afford a dedicated lease line.